Tips to lose 100 calories a day

It's always those 10 final pounds that appear to be the hardest to quash.

But if you cut just 100 calories a day from your diet—or burn 100 extra calories—you can lose those 10 pounds in one year.

The best part: You won't have to diet or do a noticeable amount of extra exercise to get there.

We grilled the health, nutrition and fitness experts to find their most creative ways to help you cut 100 calories. So pick and choose, or try them all for best results.

Stand up: If you're lifting weights, try standing up while you're doing it, said Jessica Smith, star of the DVD, "10 Minute Solution: KnockOut Body" ($14 on amazon.com). During a 30-minute strength-training workout, you'll burn an extra 100 calories or more by standing instead of sitting, she said. "For example, instead of using the leg press machine, do a squat, curl and overhead press and simultaneous calf raise with a pair of dumbbells, or do biceps curls, balancing on one leg, with a resistance band to work your entire body and almost double your calorie burn," Smith said.

Wear a heart rate monitor: Make sure you're working hard enough by simply strapping on a heart rate monitor, Smith said. It can make your workouts more efficient and effective, and you can burn more calories if you utilize your training zones.

Then try this 10-minute interval routine to burn 100 extra calories instead of your usual cardio session. After you've warmed up, do 2 minutes of work at 65 percent MHR, jump your intensity (adding speed or incline or both) for 1 minute to your 85 percent MHR; repeat three times. Finish by recovering back to 55 percent of your MHR for 1 minute.

Skip the break: If you take a few minutes to catch your breath and drink some water between every exercise set, it's time to try to lessen those pauses, said Gretchen Zelek and Karyn Klein, creators of Do or Die Fitness, a full line of fitness tools (dodfitness.com). Perform two exercises back-to-back with high intensity and no rest in between, they said. Rest only for a short time — less than 30 seconds — before performing the next two sequences of exercises. It'll keep your heart in the fat-burning range longer than if you had taken breaks.

Choose an energy burst: Add one of the following to your workout for a 100-calorie boost, suggested Zelek and Klein: Jump rope for 10 minutes, run up or down the stairs for 10 minutes, hula hoop with a weighted hoop for 7 minutes or bike up a steep hill indoors or outdoors for 6 minutes.

Swap your bagel: You can still enjoy your morning carbs — but swap the calorie-laden bagel with two slices of whole-wheat toast to shave as many as 200 calories from your breakfast, says Rania Batayneh, a nutritionist based in California and Oregon.

Baked, not fried: Opt for baked potato chips instead of regular chips, Batayneh said. For example, 15 regular Lay's potato chips have 160 calories; the same amount of Baked Lay's Potato Crisps tally 120 calories. Of course, an even more healthful option is air-popped popcorn you make at home: One cup has just 31 calories.

Carry a tune: Singing along with some music while you're working out will help you burn an extra 100 calories during a 50-minute workout, said Tannis Kobrinsky, producer and star of the Pilates fusion DVD, "Well: Worked Out with Tannis" ($15 at amazon.com).

Add three minutes: It'll just take three minutes but you'll burn about 100 calories by doing 100 jumping jacks with weights, said Teri Jory, star of the DVD, "Core Training" ($12 at amazon.com). "The key is not stopping," Jory said. "In addition to burning the extra calories, you will elevate your heart rate and sculpt your arms in this incredibly short amount of time." Jory suggested starting with 2-pound barbells and working your way up to 5-pound barbells. Don't use more than 5-pound weights, because they'll hurt your technique.

Bread alternative: Wrap your sandwich or taco in a lettuce leaf instead of a tortilla or a wrap, and you'll save up to 150 calories. The lettuce has no calories, and the wraps range from 100 to 150 calories each, Koff said.

Add ice: Adding ice to your drink will make your body work harder to get the beverage up to room temperature, Kobrinsky said. You'll burn 17 calories per glass when you drink your beverage iced instead of hot.

Count to 20: Keep your heart rate in its optimum fat-burning threshold by sprinting on the treadmill for 20 seconds, followed by 10 seconds of recovery, said Kim Truman, personal trainer and fitness expert based in Dallas. Truman said that type of drill has been proved to ignite your body's fat-burning zone, helping your body burn more fat in a more efficient format. "Four minutes of this type of drill will do more for your aerobic and anaerobic threshold than running at the same pace and level for 60 minutes," she said.